Thank you Saga Press and the Saga Says Crew for the arc of this novel.

This was an epic fantasy with a wide scope and mutliple povs. I went into this one blind as I normally do and was very happy with my experience. The lands in this world are ruled by Queen and each area na d Queen are known for specific talents. This first iteration focuses on Scorpica for the most part but also gives insight into Arca and Bastia which are other nations, ruled by other queens in this world. The story expands to show how each other 5 queens operate differently and uses the strengths of their nations to gain profits from the other nations. I will say that it times it was a little hard for me to keep track of all the characters as we not only get the present queens, but we also get the perspective of other women who will come to play a role in the development of the queendoms presently and in the future. I'll definitely be moving forward with this series.

Scorpica has a very interesting concept and plot. I love when books show fierce, strong, badass women in the lead roles. I felt as though the book could have been just a bit more detailed, it fell a little flat in areas for me. But overall it was a good read and I'm excited to see where book 2 goes.

Whew, that one took me a while! I don’t think I’ve taken this long to finish a book since The Hobbit. This was a tough read for me—there’s nothing I find more exhausting than pages and pages where absolutely nothing happens. The constant POV switches made it even harder to follow, and honestly, I’m still not entirely sure who’s who or where half the characters ended up.

BUT—around the 60% mark, things finally started to pick up. The world-building really stood out, and I’ve got to give Macallister props for crafting such an original and ambitious high fantasy. There’s definitely potential here to capture the attention of the book world… if only we got a little more action to go with it!

As for book two… yeah, I’m gonna need a serious break before diving back in. And let’s be real—I might need a recap because I have no idea where I left off 😂
This one was a 3 for me.

Thanks to NetGalley & Saga Press for the ARC.

I really fell for this book. At least in the beginning. New world, new rules, new magic. The characters were really engaging, and I loved that the whole picture of the five queendoms was revealed slowly. However, towards the middle it felt like the world building wasn't fleshed out. A lot of queendoms are not explained, and their specialty or magic system isn't fully shown. Though the character stories kept me engaged, I felt like I was lost in these worlds I couldn't fully grasp. The momentum towards a big, turmolous ending fizzled out. At least for me. I kept turning pages to end this book and just move on. But I still liked how it all came together and how it ended. I can't wait to keep reading the second book, as I really want to see the story for Arca and their queen explored. And of course we had that cliffhanger with the queen of Scorpica, that I really want to see how her story ends.

Not a bad series starter, but definitely needed more of world building. I hope to understand the five queendoms better as I continue with the series.

Thank you to Saga Press for my review copy. 3.5 rounded down.

3.5 ⭐️

Scorpica was a fascinating and ambitious read. The premise alone had me intrigued: a world ruled by women, made up of five queendoms, suddenly thrown into crisis when no girl children are born for years. It’s bold, unique, and refreshingly different from the usual fantasy fare.

The world-building is where this book really shines. Each queendom has its own culture, politics, and power dynamics, and G.R. Macallister doesn’t waste time with heavy exposition—you’re thrown in and expected to keep up, which I actually appreciated. It made the world feel lived-in and real.

The multiple POVs were a bit of a double-edged sword for me. On one hand, they gave a broader sense of the world and raised the stakes. On the other, it took some time to get invested in each storyline, and I occasionally found myself wishing we could stick with one character a little longer to build more emotional depth.

That said, the characters were compelling, especially the fierce warrior women of Scorpica. The queendom itself is brutal, intense, and utterly captivating. The magic system is introduced gradually, and while I found it intriguing, I’m hoping the sequel dives into it more deeply.

There are some dark and heavy themes—violence, trauma, and difficult choices—so it’s not exactly a light read. But if you’re into morally complex stories and don’t mind a bit of grit, it delivers.

Overall, Scorpica didn’t hit every note perfectly for me, but it was a strong start to a series with a lot of potential. I’m definitely curious to see where the story goes next.

Thank you Saga Press and NetGalley for the gifted eARC.

This LITERALLY shattered my brain and heart into a million pieces. I swear I have been in such a romantasy rut that sometimes if felt hopeless to try something else because I knew I wouldn’t like it. BUT let me tell you…. This book was FUCKING AMAZING💫🤯💥🗡️🤺👸🏼👯‍♀️🤰

What if I told you that not every book has to be about a patriarchy? What if there was a world where women ruled and were tyrants and power hungry and the men were the lesser sex? That’s exactly what’s happens here, and one year all women stop being born…the book follows the events in the aftermath.

There was like 0 romance, but the plot was absolutely phenomenal. The world setting was unlike anything I’ve ever read and the universal point of view throughout the QUEENdoms was seamless and consuming. I was invested in every character and the side stories, the political intrigue was like a fine Merlot and a block of cheese that just gets better as you eat and drink more 😂. I didn’t even need a glossary or anything because I loved each character so much I remembered everything! I cried when the characters cried and I was in awe at the strength of the women throughout these decades the book entails. At the end of this book I have a renewed sense of respect for myself as a woman….and a new favorite author!

This was a high 3 stars - 3 stars for the actual content, 4 stars for my enjoyment while reading it. I mean, I see opportunities for this book to be better for me personally, and I feel like my review is going to undermine how much I actually liked reading this book, so let me make sure this isn't understated: this was a super-enjoyable read for me.

I was going to do a pros/cons (or rather, less-than-pros) list, but realized most of my pros would be, "This was great BUT here's how it could have been better" so I'm just going to talk through things.

So, if you like a lot of dialogue, this is probably not the book for you. The dialogue is fairly limited. In fact, this book is probably heavier on the telling over the showing. But it does a fair bit of it in a way that I rather liked - that is, some of the POVs were ones were I liked being in the character's head. Not all POVs/characters were made equal, so there's that, but the lack of dialogue mostly didn't bother me.

I did feel that some of the characters were . . . not shallow, but perhaps not explored as much as I would have liked? The POV characters were all intriguing but some of them didn't move much beyond the first impression of their personalities, and it's a testament to how intriguing I found them that I wish they went deeper! For a book that is mainly about its characters' thoughts and emotions over showing them expressing said thoughts ands emotions, we didn't get as deep as I would have liked with some of the characters. That said, the Rovers were by far the highlight. I will hear no slander against them, and I will bang it on a table: FOUND. FAMILY. I would take a road novella of the Rovers, and I wish I didn't think this into the existence of only my brain because now I'm sad it doesn't exist.

My other qualm was the pacing of the plot. I felt like a lot of this book was set-up and moving pieces into places so that the plot could kick off. Which, I enjoyed seeing things move and seeing a history (since I wanted more history of the actual world and society) and a build-up, but then the climax and some of the plotlines' resolutions wrapped up too quickly once they came to a head. (SPOILERS FOLLOWING) Mirriam's unforgivable decision lasted for . . . what, two chapters? All the build-up of her story coming to THAT MOMENT and then she doesn't actually face any consequences or regret or madness for it? This could have been super interesting to see her descent! But that does make me very unaware of where the story and the characters are going to go, so that's kind of cool. I assume Ama will have a larger part to come, which is also cool. (END OF SPOILERS)

G.R. Macallister created an intriguing world with intriguing characters and I want to read more of it, not just in more books, but in more depth within the books.

But please, less use of the euphemism of "man's rain." Please.

Thank you to the publisher, S&S/Saga Press, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

A fantasy with romance read that I just finished and loved! This is the first book in The Five Queendoms series (the 3rd book is releasing in May), and as the series title suggests, it centers around five different matriarchies. Women in this world hold all the societal power, and it explores how each country is affected when there's a "drought of girls" with no more females being born.

It is told through multiple POVs of women throughout these queendoms. Having so many different threads meant for a while I wasn't sure at all what direction the story was going, but it is totally worth the payoff to see how it all comes together as their stories progress. I love this form of story telling where initially unrelated POVs come together into one story as paths cross, so this really worked for me!!

Scorpica, by G.R. MacAllister, follows the stories of various women living in the five queendoms as the peace they’ve enjoyed for centuries begins to crack when girls stop being born. These women are flawed and human and living in such different cultures and circumstances from each other. They face challenges both externally and within themselves, and this heavily influences the choices they make. The world-building is so fascinating!

Once I got into the first few chapters, I couldn’t put it down. Some people have found the pacing to be slow, but I really flew through it! If you like epic fantasies with strong female characters, this one’s for you. If you liked O.O Sangoyomi’s Masquerade or R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War, you should check this out.

What an interesting, compelling, and exciting world built around women and political intrigue. I desperately did not want this book to end, as I needed to know what was happening with each character.

My only qualm was I got confused with character names and timelines about halfway through, and had to go back a few chapters to figure out who was who. Once I cleared that up a few times, I remembered everyone and was ready to absorb new information.

I really enjoyed this read, and thank you so much NetGalley, for providing me a copy of this book! I can’t wait to read the next one.

This book is … fine. There’s a lot of POV switches, and yet somehow they all sound exactly the same. A lot of time skips with years and months passing and yet nothing and no one changing. There are no signs of character arcs or character growths, and the world building is nonexistent. The five queendoms are: Farmers, politicians, slutty mages, warriors, and city folk, and that’s all there is to the world. No real mentions of politics, of history, of purpose, just five slapdash tropes.

By the end of the book nothing has changed except the date. Some characters are dead, replaced by others. Everyone’s a bit older, and I’m utterly uninterested in reading another book in this same series. It’s dull, lifeless, and hollow.

I’m sorry, but I don’t recommend this book unless you’re already a fan of the author. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

Scorpio is a thrilling, fast-paced adventure that combines heart-pounding action with deep emotional stakes. Macallister’s storytelling pulls you in, making this a captivating read.

I think this book was very fascinating and interesting debut fantasy novel. GR Macallister did a good job with characters and story line. I admit it took me a little bit to get into it, but it ended up being a good novel. I think this was a great start to an excellent series that I look forward to reading more of. I hope more people get the chance to experience this novel because it is so much better than you think. I can't wait for more from this author. I definitely recommend this book to fantasy lovers.

Thank you Net Galley ARC, Saga Press and GR Macallister

(2.75 🌟)

I wanted to enjoy this book a lot more than I did but there were a few things that hindered my reading experience.

1. there was like a plot but not really. it was more about the characters but i did not connect with any of the characters. It felt game of thrones esq where anyone would die and like there were a lot of disjointed stories, but i did not enjoy any of the characters.

2. there were too many characters. every chapter it seemed like we were following new characters and new storylines and their voices all sounded the same so it was hard to differentiate.

3. a lot of the plot was just filler because nothing would happen.

I wasn't initially sure how I was going to like this one, but in the end, I really enjoyed it! This was a solid debut fantasy, and I'm honestly surprised that more people aren't talking about this one (as much as I love discovering a hidden gem!)

This definitely read like the first book in an epic series. It wasn't very fast-paced or action-packed, but rather, you could tell that the author was taking her time to introduce you to this world and its players and their politics. And even then, we really only got to know one, sort of two, of the five queendoms. But I love that because when it comes to fantasy, I love a good story that is so epic in scope that the telling takes several books.

I loved how brutal this book was (definitely for fans of grimdark fantasy), and I'm genuinely so intrigued by everything going on that I can't wait to keep reading this series.

I think fans of Game of Thrones, The Poppy War, and The Bone Season would love this!

Thank you to Saga Press for the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions presented here are my own.

The female protagonists throughout the story were strong and fierce women that brought a lot of character and heart into the story. It felt like we were thrust into Game of Thrones but with a matriarchy across the lands. There was a lot of political intrigue within and between nations.

I really loved the structure of society in this world and the separate queendoms, but I would have loved to see more building of the actual world. I felt like I could not visualize parts of it very well. And maybe parts of that were cut for the very ambitious storytelling and plot, which were phenomenal.

Thank you to @sagapress for my physical copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.